In October of 2010 I highlighted many of the difficulties Johnson & Johnson had been going through since the early part of the decade, from tens of millions of dollars to settle claims against its product Ortho Evra, to product recalls including children’s Tylenol and contact lenses. Other telling issues involved a wrongful termination suit by a whistle blower and a resignation by a senior executive whose conscience would not allow him to remain at J&J knowing what he knew about Ortho Evra.

My conclusion was simply that J&J’s management had veered way off course and had sullied the reputation of one ofAmerica’s greatest corporations, one that was known and respected for its integrity and honesty. I ended with an expression of hope that the lessons learned would set management on the right course once again.

This was not to be. Just this past week the press reported that J&J took a year to recall a version of its artificial hip after the FDA refused in 2009 to approve it because of its high rate of failures. The device was recalled in 2010, and J&J maintained until that time that the device was safe and its own studies refuted the allegations of professionals. J&J continued to market the hip in Europe and other overseas countries until the recall and sold another version of its hip that didn’t need safety approval in theU.S., even though the hip socket cup, which the FDA found to be flawed, was the same in both products.

It is interesting to track the timeline of most of J&J’s recent woes to the timeline of William C. Weldon’s tenure as chief executive. Whether directly attributable to Weldon’s misfeasance or malfeasance is not the issue. The torrent of missteps, mistakes, dishonesty, deception and manipulation has occurred on his watch. The least that can be said without pointing a finger directly at him is that he failed miserably to instill a sense of integrity within the company, a sense of integrity that transcends the needs of the short-term bottom line. So many executives foolishly sit at their desks with blinders on. Weldon and his followers allowed a culture to fester within their walls that calls for the good of the company to transcend the good of the public.

No executive worth his title would allow the disintegration that has taken place at J&J. Thankfully, William Weldon will step down in April of this year although he will remain as chairman. Alex Gorsky will be the new CEO. Has the Board done the Company, its shareholders and the public a major disservice? Gorsky is cut from the same cloth as Weldon. They both cut their teeth in sales and both are sensitive to the bottom line and enhancing it above all else. Hopefully Gorsky will recognize the need to build trust, and instill honor from which J&J can once again earn the widespread respect of the public. Build it and they will come. With that will come the financial success that Weldon’s crew tried to obtain on the cheap. If Gorsky has not learned from past mistakes, expect more of the same from J&J. We will all be witness to the transformation of a great American company into just another self-serving medical conglomerate that feeds off the public.

About

Michael Nayor is founder and CEO of the Rhodell Group, LLC, a consulting firm that provides comprehensive crisis management services. He is a graduate of Cornell University (B.S., M.B.A.), New York University School of Law (J.D.) and the State Department’s Foreign Service Institute advanced program in economics.